When the Japanese began buying trophy properties like Rockefeller Center in the late 1980s, there was an intense reaction.

David Letterman began his show one evening with the announcer saying, "From New York, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi, it's 'Late Night with David Letterman.' " A New York Times Op-Ed was titled, "An Economic Pearl Harbor?"

Even Donald Trump got in on the act: "Bidding on a building in New York is an act of futility, because the Japanese will pay more than it's worth," he told Playboy in 1990. "They want to own Manhattan."

A quarter-century later, it is China's turn.

On Monday, in a head-turning series of deals, a Chinese insurance company that just over a year ago purchased the Waldorf Astoria, bought $6.5 billion of properties from the Blackstone Group and made a $10.8 billion offer to buy Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.

The collection of brands — Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis — is remarkable. Properties include the Essex House on Central Park South; the Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, where "Some Like it Hot" was filmed; the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel and a smattering of Four Seasons and Fairmont properties.

When the insurer, Anbang, purchased the Waldorf in 2014, there was concern that the historic hotel — where the United States ambassador to the United Nations resides — had fallen into the hands of a Chinese company. President Barack Obama, who used to routinely stay at the Waldorf as US presidents had done since 1947, switched hotels the next time he stayed overnight in Manhattan. The White House was said to be worried that the Chinese could have planted surveillance. (Obama stayed at the Millennium One UN New York and on a subsequent trip stayed at the Palace Hotel, which is owned by a South Korean company.)

Should there be concern over Anbang's aggressive real estate push? And will the deals become part of the debate raging during the presidential campaign about foreigners taking jobs and buying up assets here?

So far, none of the candidates have made comments about the deal. But it wouldn't be hard to see it become a talking point. In one of Trump's position papers, he said: "America fully opened its markets to China, but China has not reciprocated," describing its "Great Wall of Protectionism."

Chinese companies have been on a foreign acquisition spree in recent years, looking abroad for deals in an effort to diversify. In January, the Wanda Group from China agreed to buy Legendary Entertainment, the film company behind Jurassic World, for $3.5 billion. The largest Chinese acquisition to date of an US company was Smithfield Foods' $5 billion sale to China's Shuanghui International Holdings in 2013. Last month, China National Chemical Corp. bought Syngenta, a Swiss agricultural and chemical giant, for $43 billion, the largest foreign purchase ever by a Chinese firm.

The deals by Anbang, which has close ties to current and former Chinese government officials, will most likely be reviewed by Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, also known as Cfius, which reviews all deals for companies that involve national security.

Real estate holdings may not seem like a likely target of the interagency body, but it did review and approve the Waldorf sale. At the time of the Waldorf deal, Daniel B. Pickard, a lawyer at Wiley Rein, wrote in a note to clients that the transaction "is a reminder that seemingly innocuous property transactions in the United States can have national security implications."

And how "national security" is defined is a moving target. Over the last year, at least 10 deals, mostly related to technology, were withdrawn over concerns that Cfius would block them.

Then there is the question of whether these deals will turn out to be a success or follow the losing path of Japan. Nearly all the trophy buildings that Japanese companies acquired at stratospheric premiums in the late 1980s were sold at a steep loss within the decade.

Anbang's deal-making raises concerns. It is paying $6.5 billion to Blackstone for its hotel portfolio, yet Blackstone paid only $6 billion for them three months ago. Blackstone, arguably the world's most skilled real estate investor, was all too happy to quickly flip it to them. And Anbang's offer for Starwood, in which it was joined by two financial partners, looks like an opening gambit to thwart Starwood's merger agreement with Marriott, so it is likely the final price will go even higher.

Then there is the question of how Anbang, which didn't even exist 15 years ago, is paying for all of these deals. Well, it has entered the risky business of becoming a "shadow bank" in China by offering investment products that promise large interest payments. Already, some analysts are expressing nervousness that Anbang could be unable to pay back its investors because it has plowed so much money into real estate. But as China's economy cools, companies like Anbang are desperately trying to find places to invest cash outside of the country.

Wall Street bankers and lawyers expect Chinese companies to continue to acquire assets in the United States. Anbang's deals are only the beginning. If the pace picks up, watch for this to become an issue as the presidential campaign heads into the general election.

In 1989, Sony's chief, Akio Morita, was asked about all the consternation over his acquisition of assets in Hollywood. His reply?